Series: Devil's Rock

Guest Review: Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan

Posted January 12, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Beautiful Lawman by Sophie JordanReviewer: Tracy
Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan
Series: Devil's Rock #4
Also in this series: All Chained Up (Devil's Rock #1), Fury on Fire
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: December 26th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From the wrong side of the tracks and with most of her family in jail or dead, Piper Walsh is used to everyone in town thinking the worst about her. It doesn’t seem to matter that she’s worked hard to build a good life for herself. So she isn’t surprised that when she comes into contact with Sweet Hill’s wildly irresistible, arrogant sheriff, Hale Walters, they’re instant adversaries. Piper has nothing in common with the town golden-boy-turned-lawman—and she refuses to be a notch on his bedpost.

Despite rumors, Hale avoids fooling around with the women of Sweet Hill, many of whom are hoping to get him to the altar. But staying out of Piper’s path is proving near impossible. The infuriating troublemaker clearly has no respect for his badge. As she continues to push his buttons, it becomes clear to Hale that he must either arrest Piper—or claim her as his own.

Piper Walsh is working as a waitress in strip club.  She doesn’t dance, just serves drinks.  She hates it, but she has to provide for her younger sister who she is guardian of while her brother is in prison.  When Piper’s sister gets into trouble and Piper is called in to the Sheriff station to pick her up she’s not happy.  She’s even more unhappy when she loses her job because of it and can’t find another one.  She finally bites the bullet and tells the owner of the strip club that she’ll do lap dances but nothing else.  When Hale Walters, the know-it-all-but-incredibly-hot sheriff walks in and gets a lap dance it goes way farther than Piper or Hale expect it to.

Hale is hot for Piper and doesn’t understand why everyone treats her like crap.  Sure, he’s done his fair share of being judgmental, but the more he gets to know her the more he sees that she’s not a bad person.  He saves her bacon in the job department and eventually Hale and Piper start a hot and intense relationship.  But will everyone else’s opinions end up tearing them apart?

This was a good book – very hot with a good story.  I liked the mystery of why Piper’s brother was in prison – they kept alluding to it but not actually coming out and telling us why he was in Devil’s Rock.  Piper was amazing.  She would do what it took to take care of her younger sister and loved her brother so much that she refused to move away even when she couldn’t find a job better than lap-dancing. I loved that about her.  She had grit and wasn’t afraid to live a hard life.  She hated it, but she did it.

Hale was a great character as well and while at first I thought he was an ass, he definitely grew on me as the pages were turned.

My issues with the book really stemmed from the lack of romance in this one.  Yes, they were hot in bed together but I needed more in their relationship to take this book up a few notches in the “like” department.  I definitely liked it enough to look into reading the other Devil’s Rock books – this was my first intro into the series.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Devils Rock Series

three-half-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Release Day Blitz: Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan

Posted December 26, 2017 by Holly in Promotions | 2 Comments

Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan is out today.

Release Day Blitz: Beautiful Lawman by Sophie JordanBeautiful Lawman (Devil's Rock #4) by Sophie Jordan
Series: Devil's Rock #4
Also in this series: All Chained Up (Devil's Rock #1), Fury on Fire, Beautiful Lawman
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: December 26th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

From the wrong side of the tracks and with most of her family in jail or dead, Piper Walsh is used to everyone in town thinking the worst about her. It doesn’t seem to matter that she’s worked hard to build a good life for herself. So she isn’t surprised that when she comes into contact with Sweet Hill’s wildly irresistible, arrogant sheriff, Hale Walters, they’re instant adversaries. Piper has nothing in common with the town golden-boy-turned-lawman—and she refuses to be a notch on his bedpost.

Despite rumors, Hale avoids fooling around with the women of Sweet Hill, many of whom are hoping to get him to the altar. But staying out of Piper’s path is proving near impossible. The infuriating troublemaker clearly has no respect for his badge. As she continues to push his buttons, it becomes clear to Hale that he must either arrest Piper—or claim her as his own.

Excerpt

“You.”

He didn’t reply right away. She stood there, not sure whether to bolt or step forward and punch him. Was this some kind of joke? The guy that sneered at this place, at her . . . was in this room as her first client? It didn’t make sense. The sheriff she knew—the sheriff she thought she knew—wouldn’t even think about stepping foot in this room. Not him. Not Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass. He didn’t do strippers. His words. Jerk.

“My cousin insisted that I take a lap dance,” he finally said. She froze at that deep voice, goose bumps breaking over her skin as the gravel of his words rolled over her.

Nightmare confirmed. It was him. He was doing this. He was sitting there. It was happening.

She had to take off her clothes and dance for him. Heat flared inside her. It was anger. That was it. Nothing more. The fact that it was him in all his hotness did not affect her libido at all.

“Your cousin?” she asked.

“Evan Sanders.”

“That jackass is your cousin?” She made a sound of disgust. “I should have guessed the connection.”

“Really?” He angled his head. “Should people judge people based off family connections?”

She sucked in a breath. That arrow was aimed directly for her. “You’re a lawman. Can you even be in here? Doesn’t this break some ethical code?”

“There’s nothing illegal about me being here. You’re just dancing.”

“And taking off my clothes,” she flung at him.

He settled his big hands on the tops of his thighs. His fingers were blunt tipped, the nails

trimmed and clean. He was quiet for a moment before that dark voice of his agreed. “And taking off your clothes.”

Her skin shivered. She couldn’t move. She felt like the clichéd deer caught in the crosshairs. She shifted her weight. “Well. You paid for half an hour.”

“That long?”

“Thirty minutes is the minimum.”

“Then by all means.” He fluttered a hand. “Do your thing.”

Right. Do your thing.

She squared her feet apart and focused, for the first time, on the music being piped in from the speakers overhead. It was classic rock. She closed her eyes and let it fill her. She rolled her head slightly and let her hips move, hands coming to her sides. Her palms drifted up over her abdomen and rib cage. She tried not to think of him, but she couldn’t help it. She could actually feel his eyes on her, his gaze crawling all over her.

The same pulsing tightness she had felt in her stomach when they talked at the park returned. Just like that. A match catching fire. She was turned on knowing he was watching her as she touched herself. It was so messed up.

She let her hands move of their own accord, dragging them across her breasts. She gave in to temptation and opened her eyes and met his gaze. And there was nothing. He watched her blankly. No reaction.

Damn it. This was humiliating. Her movements stalled and she heard his arrogant voice in her head again. I don’t do strippers. She felt foolish. All her efforts were wasted on him because he didn’t want this. His cousin insisted he take a lap dance. That’s why he was here.

A loud commotion sounded from outside the room. She turned and looked toward the door. The door opened and one of the girls stuck her head in. “Marty! We need you!”

Marty hesitated and glanced back at them.

Piper shrugged. “Go on. I’m fine.” She wasn’t in danger with the sheriff. The guy was a block of ice. Marty didn’t need to worry about leaving them alone.

The bouncer glanced at the sheriff. Clearly Marty knew who he was. Satisfied she was in safe hands with the lawman, he nodded and hurried out of the room. She turned back to face Walters.

“You sure about that?” he asked.

“Being alone with you in here?” She snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine.”

He wasn’t going to pounce on her. He looked more interested in a nap than watching her take off her clothes. And that bugged her. Perversely, she knew, but she wanted this guy to be . . . affected. “Should I be worried?” she asked, her fingers curling around the hem of her dress, inching it up just a little.

“You work at Joe’s. You should always be on your guard.”

“Such a very correct answer, Sheriff Walters.” She stepped forward, moving into the shadows with him. “But why should I be worried about you? You don’t do strippers, remember?”

His gray eyes fixed on her face, but he didn’t answer.

In one move, she pulled her dress over her head. It whispered on the air before it dropped on the floor behind her.

She stood there in her heels. Chill air skated over her and her nipples puckered and tightened inside her bra.

“You’re a cop,” she murmured. “If I’m not safe with you . . .” She let her voice fade suggestively.

His eyes were still fixed on hers, but there was an intensity there now. His jaw was locked, face frozen as though he couldn’t look anywhere except at her eyes. As though he wouldn’t allow himself to look anywhere else but her face. Such a masochist.

And she wasn’t having that.

She ran her hands over her front, dragging them over her demicups and down the slope of her stomach. She arrowed her fingers over the tiny swatch of fabric covering her sex, sliding her fingertips sensuously against the silk.

Still, he did not look anywhere except her face. Ugh. Stubborn man. “What’s the matter? You knew I was going to strip. You don’t want to look?”

Something ignited inside her at the challenge he presented. He was a block of ice but she would crack him. With a growl of frustration she backed up several steps, offering him a wider view. She moved slightly with the music, letting it pump through her. She wanted him to want her.

She needed him to.

She fanned her fingers over her face, keeping them parted so she could still peer out at him. Her goal was to start where he was fixated—on her face—and work her way down, bringing him with her.

As her fingers reached her lips, she let impulse guide her and sucked a finger into her mouth.

And there it was. Something flickered in his gaze, cracking the frosty gray.

It was all the validation she needed.

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE || GOOGLE || iBOOKS || KOBO

Devil’s Rock

About the Author

Sophie Jordan

WEBSITE| TWITTER | FACEBOOK| INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.


Tagged: , , , , ,

Review: Fury on Fire by Sophie Jordan

Posted February 7, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Fury on Fire by Sophie JordanReviewer: Rowena
Fury on Fire by Sophie Jordan
Series: Devil's Rock #3
Also in this series: All Chained Up (Devil's Rock #1), Beautiful Lawman
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: January 31st 2017
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

When you live next door to the big bad wolf . . .

After years in prison, North Callaghan is finally free. But the demons haunting him still make him feel like a caged beast. He loses himself in work and hard living, coming up for air only to bed any willing woman to cross his path. So when his new neighbor snares his interest, he decides to add another notch to his bedpost. The only problem? Faith Walters is a white picket fence kind of girl.

Prepare to be devoured.

Faith’s new neighbor is the rudest man alive. He’d rather grunt at her than speak and he takes her “welcome-to-the-neighborhood” scones without a thank you. She knows she should run for the hills from the ex-con. If only he weren’t so smoldering sexy…if only the sounds of him with other women didn’t drift through their shared wall and fill her with longing…and if only he didn’t look at her like they were a collision waiting to happen.

Fury on Fire is the third book in the Devils Rock series and even though I enjoyed it, I think I’m done with this series (if there will be more books). This book follows North Callaghan, Knox’s (hero from the first book) little brother that was left behind in jail. North doesn’t hold anything against Knox, life isn’t fair sometimes and he gets it. Life wasn’t fair for their cousin Katie. Life wasn’t fair for a lot of people. He was in jail, paying for what he did to his cousin’s rapist.

North has been out of jail for about two years and he’s keeping his head down. He’s got a job that he doesn’t really care for but helps pay his bills. He’s got a side job that he likes more than the real job and he’s got a roof over his head that is all his. He’s got some hangups about what he’s seen, what he’s done in jail and he’s not real proud of any of it so he keeps to himself. He has the usual hook up and that’s it. All of that changes when he gets a new neighbor in the form of Faith Walters.

Faith is ready for her own space. She’s lived for most of her life with her family but she’s ready to have her own things. Her own space. The men in her family are pretty protective of her and since her father is the old sheriff of their small town and her brother is the current sheriff of the same small town, it’s not a surprise. Everything was going great in her new house until her next door neighbor has an overnight guest over and she is right up against the wall and hears everything. She’s not going to let that get to her though, or scare her off from her new house because for the first time in her life, she’s got her own place.

With each passing day, Faith and North circle each other. They have the normal neighbor gripes with each other. Faith thinks that North is a jerk because he’s shown her nothing but that and North thinks that she’s an interfering do-gooder. They circle each other because North is waiting for her to admit that she wants him just as much as he wants her. They both have their reasons for not going there but North doesn’t hide from the fact that he does want Faith. I liked that. I liked that Faith stood up for North when she needed to but the romance felt rushed between them.

I’m not sure what it was but I didn’t really get the romance. One minute they’re hating each other and then the next, it felt like they were automatically in love with each other. I’m not sure if it was because the story was so short or what but I didn’t buy that they fell in love so quickly. Still, it was enjoyable if a bit unbelievable but I felt the same way about the other two books in this series so that shouldn’t be surprising.

Fury on Fire is a solid, can’t believe that this would happen in real life romance with two characters that really got each other. It was an entertaining couple of hours, kind of fluffy but still decent.

Grade: 3 out of 5

three-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Review: Hell Breaks Loose by Sophie Jordan

Posted August 4, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Hell Breaks Loose by Sophie JordanReviewer: Rowena
Hell Breaks Loose (Devils Rock #2) by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: July 126 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars

Hell hath no hunger like a man let out of a cage . . .

Shy and awkward, First Daughter Grace Reeves has always done what she’s told. Tired of taking orders, she escapes her security detail for a rare moment of peace. Except her worst nightmare comes to life when a ruthless gang of criminals abducts her. Her only choice is to place her trust in Reid Allister, an escaped convict whose piercing gaze awakens something deep inside her. Reid is nothing like her other captors.

He’s tougher, smarter…and one blistering look from him makes her hotter than any man ever has.

Reid spent years plotting escape and revenge . . .years without a woman in his bed. For this hardened felon, Grace Reeves isn’t just out of his league—she’s from another planet, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her. Escaping Devil’s Rock was tough, but resisting this woman could be the end of him. For a man with nothing to lose, protecting her . . . claiming her as his own, becomes more necessary than his next breath.

Hell Breaks Loose is the second book in the Devils Rock series by Sophie Jordan. It follows Reid Allistair after he escapes prison and then kidnaps and falls in love with the first daughter, Grace Reeves.

I know, right?

I thought the same thing going in and while the book came with a lot of eye rolling, it was still entertaining and a very guilty pleasure type book that I ate right up.

So Reid is on a mission and the minute he’s free from prison, he sets about that mission but gets caught up in saving Grace Reeves, the freaking President of the United States daughter from a gang of no good guys. Saving Grace isn’t going to put him off his mission of revenge on the guy who set him up and is responsible for him being sent to prison for 11 years. He’ll save her and he’ll set her free…just as soon as he finishes his business with Sullivan.

He wasn’t counting on getting to know Grace and on opening up to Grace in ways he hasn’t opened up to anyone but with the more time that they spend together, the closer they get and the more determined Grace is that someone finally stick up for Reid. Their romance was hot and it was a little hard to take at times with how mean Reid was and how I couldn’t get over the fact that Reid broke out of prison and is now shacked up with the freaking first daughter of the United States of America. It was hard to wrap my brain around that but in the end, it all worked out and I was glad.

Reid was mean but he also cared deeply about those around him. I really liked how sorry he was for what happened to North in the prison. He meant to do better by North but things were out of his control and in the aftermath of all that went down, North was hurt. I’m really looking forward to reading his book. But I liked seeing Reid with Grace, seeing him with Knox and even his brother. I liked that there was this other side to the guy that ran things in prison. There was much to like about Reid but it took me a while to warm up to him, especially with the rough treatment he gave Grace when they first met.

Grace was a solid heroine. She was smart, she was strong and she was brave. She had to be to survive with those jerks that took her in the first place. It took me a while to warm up to the fact that she fell in love with a convicted murderer but alls well that ends well and the sacrifice she made at the end was exactly the thing that someone like her would do. I admired her for it at the same time that it broke my heart a bit.

Overall, this book was good but wasn’t without its faults. You really have to keep yourself wrapped up in the characters and the story being told and not get caught in the details of what exactly is going on even though it all works out in the end, I still sighed my way through this one because seriously??? He escaped prison and he was convicted of murder? My whole attitude was, “Okay…let’s do this.” In the end, I wasn’t mad that I read this book. It was still good and that’s a compliment to Sophie Jordan’s writing.

Grade: 3 out of 5

three-stars


Tagged: , , , , , ,

Review: All Chained Up by Sophie Jordan

Posted April 15, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: All Chained Up by Sophie JordanReviewer: Rowena
All Chained Up (Devil's Rock #1) by Sophie Jordan
Series: Devil's Rock #1
Also in this series: Fury on Fire, Beautiful Lawman
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

There are bad boys and then there are the men of Devil’s Rock . . .

Some men come with a built-in warning label. Knox Callaghan is one of them. Danger radiates from every lean, muscled inch of him, and his deep blue eyes seem to see right through to Briar Davis’s most secret fantasies. But there’s one major problem: Briar is a nurse volunteering at the local prison, and Knox is an inmate who should be off-limits in every way.

Knox feels it too—a shocking animal magnetism that drives him to risk his own life to protect Briar’s. Paroled at last, he tries to resist her. She’s too innocent, too sweet, and she has no idea what Knox is capable of. But a single touch can lead to a kiss—and a taste . . . until the only crime is denying what feels so right . . .

“When the prison doors are open, the real dragon will fly out.”—Ho Chi Minh

I never knew I wanted to read a prison romance until Sophie Jordan came out with one. I was a huge fan of the early seasons of Prison Break and I shipped the hell out of inmate Michael Scofield and Nurse Sara Tancredi so coming across this book made me sit up and take notice. I was ready for some angst and serious sexual chemistry and I’m happy to say that Sophie Jordan delivered the goods with this one.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I went in with high hopes and I ended up quite satisfied with this read. Briar and Knox were not what I was expecting but I didn’t mind. I actually really enjoyed both of their stories. Knox has been in prison for the last eight years and when he gets injured after a fight that lands him in segregation and is sent to the HSU (Health Services Unit), he comes across Nurse Davis and he’s attracted to her.

Briar Davis is a nurse trying to make her way. She’s saving up to buy a house of her own so when she gets offered some overtime work at the prison, she’s not all that excited to take the job but take it she does. The very last thing she thought would happen in a prison of all places happens and Briar is trying very hard to not think about a certain inmate. But when the unthinkable happens, Knox Callaghan becomes a huge part of her thoughts. Thanking him becomes important to her but when she returns to the prison to thank him in person, she finds out that he’s gone. He got parole and is out.

Briar didn’t think she’d ever run into Knox and Knox thought he’d seen the last of Nurse Davis but when they do run into each other, all the delicious sexual tension that was always around them amps right up…because there’s nothing to stop them from acting on that tension. Well, except the fact that Knox was guilty for the crime that he was charged and sent to prison for. That’s not something that Briar can easily look past but the more time they spend together, the more important Knox becomes to her.

This was a great start to a series that I’m mighty curious about. I’m glad that I read it because it had all of the goodness that I loved from Prison Break. I liked the way that Knox’s past was handled and I loved the heck out of him. I loved that he tried to do right by Briar but like I keep saying…the heart wants what it wants. I really enjoyed watching these two come together in love and I’m so looking forward to the next book. Reid!! Holy shit!! OMG!! I can’t wait!

Grade: 4 out of 5

Reading Order:

All Chained Up
Hell Breaks Loose

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , ,